6-18-2014 Sneak Peek goes well

If you walked by the Egyptian Theatre early on Wednesday, you saw a flurry of activity in preparation for the sneak peek that evening. Carpets were being steam cleaned, building debris was being swept away, painters were busy on the second story of the facade as well as the front of the marquis. That has now been painted black and looks fabulous. Egyptian figures were painted in black and gold on either side of the left set of doors. The other set will be painted in a day or two. Painting was going on right up until the doors opened for the event – careful – don’t touch – they are not dry! The cobra door handles haven’t arrived yet, but they are expected to be here for the Grand Re-Opening on Friday.

Around 6:15 people started to arrive for the Sneak Peek. Board members of the ETPA were on hand to welcome people. Fresh popcorn from our new machine was being served in sample sizes with buttery topping and white cheddar sprinkles. As folks gathered in the lobby to greet one another and marvel at the new ADA bathrooms on the first floor, music coming out of the auditorium grabbed their attention. Soon people found clean, comfortable seats and settled in to be entertained by Paul Quarino at the console of the Mighty Wurlitzer.

Then Greg Rueger, President of the ETPA appeared and welcomed everyone. He made a few remarks about the reopening of the theatre and then introduced Kara Long, the new executive director of the theatre.

Kara shared information about some of the upcoming programming and then we got to watch a clip from “Mama Mia” to demonstrate the new sound system and show how well the projectors are working. “Mama Mia” will be featured on June 28th with a pajama party sing-a-long.

We then heard another selection from Paul Quarino on the Mighty Wurlitzer who was literally pushed off the bench by Lee Littlefield who rounded off the evening’s concert.

Folks were then invited to go to various parts of the building and see what was new. Many went to see the back wall of the theatre which had extensive work done to make it sound once again. Then they came back on stage to be wowed by the various drops that are hidden from view up in the fly. David Engholm raised and lowered several of them, much to the delight of the people on stage.